New Air Mattresses from REI

“Just a little heads-up, no offense to Therm-a-Rest®, but REI will soon be selling their own brand of inflatable mattresses. Not only will they be less expensive, but they also include a stuff sack and a repair kit. They haven't arrived in stores yet (at least not our store) and this is not an official REI-sponsored announcement, I'm just a dude who works there part-time and I'm spewing about on my own account. You take care, all of you, you know who you are.”

“they more important question (to me at least) is...how heavy will it be??”

“It depends if you inflate them with helium or not. I use helium and tie the air mattress to the back of my pack and it follows me from above like a mini-blimp. I hike on my tippy toes.”

“What country are they made in?”

“Actually, at least according to the REI brainwashing meeting I was at last night, the new REI self-inflating mattresses will be lighter than the comparable Therm-a-Rest Prolife 4. Wait, did I just say pro-life? I meant Prolite. I don't wanna get in the whole row vs. wade thing. I do know that if you cut 1/3 off the end of the air mattress, it will cut the weight by 1/3. I'm not sure if that voids the warranty or not, might wanna check first.”

“I do believe they will be made in Bangladesh, but we were assured that no one under the age of 3 will be allowed to work directly on the stuff.”

“The stuff sacks will be made in Burma by a subsidary of Cathy Lee Gifford's corporation.”

“U Nut U!
if it's lighter it sure will be worth looking in to. thanks”

“if it's lighter it sure will be worth looking in to

Why would you look into it? They're not see-through and even if they were, it's just foam inside. Pretty boring if you ask me. To each his own. Oh I'm too much.”

“damn..smoked that stuff again huh?
told you not to do that anymore.


anyway...i like looking into stuff...that's how I learn new things, and know how things work. Foam or no foam, boring or not boring. who knows I may develope the next superlight, super comfortable matress.”

“Thanks for the info !”

“An air mattress lighter than a Thermarest? What makes it lighter, all the hot air I get from REI staff here in Southern California? I'd find the Southern Calironia stores more appealing if the staff stuck to sucking helium like you Nor Cal staffers!”

“I will only buy one if it weighs more than my Sealy”

“LMFAO! I like the idea of helium inflated air mattresses!”

“No thanks! I'll stick to "Made In America Thermrests". Still made in Seattle, WA.
Worth every penny!!”

“Thanks for the laughs, Buck..until someone invents an inflatable mattress that one fills with dehydrated water I think I'll have to continue using the 3 or 4 Themarests I have laying around my yard...”

“Gemini sure needs to watch the weight.


Hey, wait a minute!!

I mean, have you ever moved that girl's pack?

I think that's where she keeps her bigass shootin' iron.”

“:-P

My PACK is heavy isnt' it? 40 lb pack or so. I know!! working on it, working on it.”

“Yeah.....that's a lot of kilos too!!”

“Buck, who is the company making the pad for REI”

“I'm sure the name is "unpronouncable", unless you speak Bangladeshi.”

“I'm sure most companies that make gear have names like that. Just because the have TNF or MSR on it doesn't meam much to me.”

“Buck, seems that it would make more sense to tie the rei-rest to your rest and skip instead of just walking. On your upswing on your stride you would get the full effect of the helium. You'd have a Neil Armstrong moonwalk effect.”

“Ewker....MSR is owned by Cascade Designs, which owns Thermarest :-)”

“At one time REI owned MSR.

I'm not sure where/what/who is contracted for the air mattresses. Don't get me wrong, I love Therm-a-Rest and I have a dozen of them, the REI ones will just be able to provide product to a market that might not be want to pay the extra $20 smackeroos for the Therm-a-Rest mattresses. It's like that for most REI stuff, from tents to jackets to SUVs. It's usually quite a few percentage points cheaper but still excellent quality stuff. When the mattresses come out I can see where they're made for from and I'll let ya know. If you find a diaper in a stuff sack please don't tell anyone.”

“I'm always suspicious of a product that includes a repair kit as part of the product....




;-)”

“Sarbar may like her Thermarest, but I know for a fact she has at least two REI tents. : )”

“If these new ones start cutting deeply into Thermarest sales you can forget about Thermarests being made in the US anymore, they'll ship those jobs off to Bangladesh faster'n you can blink. Probably to the exact same factory...”

“Buck do you work at retail or hq?”

“He works at the Mother Ship.”

“Yo..... Buck. Need a merchandise planner? (the best by the way!)”

“I'm just a part-time lowly peon REI retail dude in a green vest in the camping department in Roseville, CA. I've never even been to the Seattle Mothership store. I don't want to move up the REI ladder because I don't want responsibility and headaches, I just work there for fun and gear discounts. I love talking about gear and places. I can't believe I actually get paid (even though it ain't much) to talk about backpacking gear and trips and always peruse the latest stuff and get paid to attend clinics from all these companies plus get insane discounts on gear. Plus I look hot in a green vest. Sometimes it's all I wear.”

“Very cool Buck. I mean about the vest thing ;-D

I actually keep my eye on the mother ship job listings. They need one now but my daughter has one more year of h.s. and I have a great job.

2 year plan, 2 year plan”

“I once wore my green Eddie Bauer fleece vest to REI and all these people kept asking me questions. So I gave them really "unusual" answers. I'm sure the REI folks didn't mind....”

“Bison,

I can assure you that when we experience an as yet unknown amount of lost sales due to REI making a private label sleeping pad, we will not start making them offshore. There are way too many reasons for this to mention, not the least of which is our corporate philosphy. We import a small number of sewn items like tents, and cookware that support other products in our line, but we always strive to make the majority of our products domestically in Seattle, WA. We sell more US made products outside of the US, then we import from offshore to sell in the US. Most of the larger chain stores have come out with a line of offshore private label pads over the last decade, and we've continued to make Thermarest pads here in Seattle. It's a free market, and people can choose to buy what they want, from who they want.
My two cents,

Rick Klug
Cascade Designs”

“That's good to know Rick. Ethics in business ain't dead yet folks.”

“hehehe Bison burned by a person in the know.

Nice to know people like Rick check into these boards time to time.”

“I'm pretty dang happy with the four Thermarest pads I own.

I thing I might be edging close to gear slut status. ;-)”

“Currahee, you and spewy should come to the Walls trip weekend after next.
Easy walk in and out to a base camp. Easy dayhiking up the Walls.
I've never met spewy.”

“I'll have to look at my schedule. As stated before it gets expensive to ask for weekends off.”

“Buck - remember in the Doug Peacock book where he kept asking for demotions until he got to a level of responsibility that allowed him to take the type of trips he wanted to take?”

“Well heck, just send spewy then. ;-)”

“Alone? On a DOM trip?”

“I have checked out the other brands and though some have some nice bells and whistles I am sticking with my Thermorest. I have an army issue 1" and the 1.5" old style. I am considering getting the prolite 4 but since it weighs almost the same as the army issue one I am not sure.”

“I've got a great big hug waiting for that little cutie too! ;-)
last edited: 3/03/05 4:19:52 PM”

“Here's my three cents... Therm-a-Rest has been around a long time, they make the best stuff, they are the market leader in sales, design, quiality, and envy from other companies. I have worked (part-time) at REI for over 5 years now and we have offered less expensive self-inflating Therm-a-Rest wannabe pads before. Stearns® comes to mind as one. I still always recommended (and still do) Therm-a-Rest, and those less expensive pads were/are a miniscule part of our sales (at least on the shifts I've worked). I use a lot of Cascade Designs products and love 'em all. I do a lot of kayaking and their SealLine stuff is the best too. I use their deck bags and their dry bags. Their customer service rocks too.

My guess (and that's all it is, even though I'm a complete total profressional, you know it) is that REI will sell a lot of self-inflating mattresses but still won't match the Therm-a-Rest in sales even in our own stores (nor is that really the intent, I mean, REI makes good $$ selling Therm-a-Rest stuff as is) and this really won't affect overall sales from Therm-a-Rest, who obviously sell their wares in zeeellions of various retail stores other than REI. It's just another option for REI shoppers who might want a lower cost alternative and don't mind their air mattresses bursting every other trip. KIDDING. Just kidding. The REI stuff will be quality stuff and fully warranted and will be made by Oompa Loompas in a secret production center underneath Mt. Ranier.

REI is also developing a new operating system for personal computers. I think Microsoft's days are numbered. See ya Billy boy.”

“REI corporate offices are not in Seattle. They are in Renton, (or is it Kent now?) both are icky towns, southeast of Seattle. It's not the nicest area. Blech.

The commute from "civilized" places would be a nightmare. So it better be in the top 100 best places to work, cause otherwise no one would want to work there!”

“Sorry it's "technically" not called "corporate." Their "headquarters." Is that better? ; )”